Separation of Church and State
The Separation of Church and State Beginnings This phrase was first spoken by Thomas Jefferson when talking about the First Amendment. He was referencing the fact that the United States government should not establish a state religion and that there should be a wall of separation between church and state, and this has become known as the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Our founding fathers had great concerns about the new nation becoming a church-state like the one they had left in England, and since they had not had good experiences in there they did not want to have the same problems follow them to the United States. Alliance Defense Fund Christian ideals have intertwined their way into the rights for same sex marriage time and time again. There is a battle between the bible and the courts over which way our state should be led. As expressed by the Alliance Defense Fund, an organization dedicated to keeping Christian ideals present in all court rulings and laws, “In a dangerous decision that could ultimately threaten your religious freedom and the democratic process, a federal judge ruled that California's voter-approved amendment protecting marriage was unconstitutional.” They use the example of the Perry v. Brown case to support their ideas saying it was: 1. It was orchestrated by Hollywood insiders who already have plans to film a major motion picture about the trial. 2. The case was intentionally filed and tried in San Francisco, where it was initially decided by a male judge who disclosed – after the trial – that he has been in a homosexual relationship for more than 10 years. 3. The case was most recently heard before a panel of three judges that included the most overturned judge in America, one whose wife worked for 38 years as the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Southern California. http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/Marriage http://www.adfmedia.org/News/PRDetail/3618 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exNI8dQ15eQ&feature=player_embedded Statistics: *Only one-in-five (22%) Californians believe the passage of Proposition 8 was a “good thing” for the state. Most Californians believe Proposition 8 was either a bad thing for California (29%) or believe it has not made any difference (45%). *One-in-four Californians report that their views on rights for gay and lesbian people has become more supportive over the last five years, compared to only 8% who say they have become more opposed. Among religious groups, ethnic minority groups showed slightly more overall movement than white religious groups. Among black Protestants, twice as many report becoming more supportive as report becoming more opposed (27% vs. 13%); among Latino Catholics, that ratio is 3-to-1 (31% more supportive vs. 9% more opposed) over this period. *If another vote similar to Proposition 8 were held tomorrow, a majority (51%) say they would vote to allow gay and lesbian couples to marry, compared to 45% who say they would vote to keep same-sex marriage illegal. *There is a striking Catholic-Protestant divide within the California Latino community on public policy issues related to gay and lesbian rights. A majority of Latino Catholics (57%) say they would vote to allow gay and lesbian couple to marry, compared to just 22% of Latino Protestants. The Catholic-Protestant divide in the Latino community is evident across a wide range of public policy issues related to gay and lesbian rights.